Topic 10: Convergence and Mobility

According to Sir Ken Robinson, creativity is what drives us into

our passions. It is what makes us unique and is an extension of our
true authentic self. In the world of education, technology can hinder
or expand our ability to be creative.
Let me first begin by stating a few of the drawbacks to
convergence and media devices within the classroom. The first being
the biggest fear a teacher has about technology that is a tool for
distraction. Constantly having a device in your pocket that acts as a
gateway to escape from the physical world has some serious negative
effects. As thinking about this, I am reminded of a quote by Sherry
Turkle in her book, Alone Together:
The technology has become like a phantom limb, it is so much a part of
them. These young people are among the first to grow up with an expectation
of continuous connection: always on, and always on them. And they are
among the first to grow up not necessarily thinking of simulation as second
best. All of this makes them fluent with technology but brings a set of new
insecurities.

Even as I sit in my university classes where the majority of students

have laptops open, it is rare to see someone who is not surfing the
web, checking their Facebook, or participating in instant messaging,
all the while pretending to be engaged. Technology is just like having
a window in the classroom to stare blankly off into, wishing we were
there rather than here. However, this article here explains that is not

the case, where they argue the key is to capture students through the
use of their cellphones.
If devices are to be allowed into the classroom, a teacher has to
set clear expectations for the students. There needs to be a focus on
educating students of the consequences of constantly checking their
phones. Like everything, there is a time or place. One way a teacher
could demonstrate the negatives of being on your device while
engaging in another activity is through role-playing. Students could
be paired off and required to engage in conversation; one student is
on their device, while the other is not, all the while trying to converse
with one another. I think this activity could open the floor for
discussion on the uses of having devices in the classroom and as a
class come up with their own set of rules and guidelines of having
mobile devices in the classroom. Students, especially teenagers, do
not like being told what to do; therefore, the teacher should transfer
the ownership to them. Ask the students what they want from
technology and how they want to use technology in the classroom.
However, I am digressing from my central focus of this article,
which is that technology should be used to enhance creativity.
According to the NMC Horizon Report on technology, we need to
reshape the idea of what the essential role is for a teacher. It states
the shift to students as creators, learners are being given more
autonomy over how they approach projects and subject matter. The

teacher now steps down as the sage on the stage and into the role
as a facilitator of knowledge. I believe that the central role of
technology should be used as an opportunity for students to become
more creative. There are thousands of apps where students can
harness their inner passion and create meaningful work. Here is a list
of 18 applications that offers students the opportunity to be creative.
Aside as technology as a creative tool for students, teachers can
utilize many applications to engage students. During my PSI, I
created a QR code scavenger hunt for a Grade 1 class where they had
to run around the school finding clues of the whereabouts of the
gingerbread man. Each QR code had information to the next location.
Furthermore, teachers could use devices in the classroom as stressfree, no nonsense assessment. Applications like PollAnywhere and
Kahoot can be accessed with any mobile device, where a teacher can
receive formative assessment in real-time.
The fact is that technology in the classroom needs to be
regulated in some form. Student use should be regulated because it
offers too much in the way of distraction, however, it cannot be
completely abandoned like in the case of Waldorf schools. Students
enjoy using technology but simply using technology as an end within
itself is unacceptable. With the use of technology, there needs to be a
clear purpose and intention.